Chapter 477: Illusion Ash! Don't Think I Won't Recognize You Just Because You're Wearing a Mask!

The atmosphere in the area instantly turned bizarre.

The Lord of Dawn was absolutely certain of one thing. Although he had planted spies in the Lord of Primal Desolation's ranks, the latter hadn't brought those spies along for this operation. The men who had just violently turned on them were people Dawn had never privately contacted.

Could it be...

He began to realize something was terribly wrong.

"Today, this Saint Lord will kill you!" Mechanical gears ground and whirred inside the furious Lord of Primal Desolation's body as plumes of white steam billowed from his nose and mouth.

The Lord of Dawn's expression drastically changed. "Stay your hand! There must be—"

"For Lord Yuanhuang!!"

Several fanatical shouts rang out behind the Lord of Dawn. His own subordinates raised their weapons and launched a fearless, suicidal assault.

Shock and fury gripped the Lord of Dawn. How could this be!? Were all the men this Saint Lord brought actually spies?!

"For Lord Dawn!!"

Almost at the exact same moment, the subordinates behind the Lord of Primal Desolation shouted with the same fanatical expressions, ruthlessly turning their weapons on their master.

This utterly absurd scene stunned even the experienced Lord of Primal Desolation. What was going on?! Were all his men actually spies planted by Dawn?

So the men Dawn brought were actually his men, and the men he brought were all Dawn's?

Faced with such a bizarre turn of events, an ordinary person's brain would have completely shut down. But the two Saint Lords were no ordinary people.

If they still couldn't realize what was happening, they wouldn't be fit to be called Saint Lords.

A flash of realization struck Dawn and Yuanhuang at the same time. They stared at each other in horror, blurting out a single name in unison.

"The Lord of Illusory Ashes!!"

There was only one person in the world capable of simultaneously controlling all their subordinates—the Lord of Illusory Ashes, a master of Illusion Techniques!

"Damn it! The Lord of Illusory Ashes must be behind this!"

"How did the information leak?" Horror covered the Lord of Dawn's face. His mind raced frantically as he fended off his subordinates' treacherous attacks.

Even though he was currently suffering from severe injuries, a few Gold Kings and Saint Grades couldn't possibly kill him. What truly chilled him wasn't the betrayal of his men, but the fact that the Lord of Illusory Ashes was hiding somewhere nearby!

"How could this happen! Where did things go wrong? These men are all my trusted confidants, and their whereabouts were completely under my control. No matter how strong Illusion Ash is, taking control of them would require frequent contact and a vast amount of time. How could he have silently controlled all of them?!"

The more he thought about it, the more chaotic his mind became, to the point that he even began to suspect the Lord of Primal Desolation.

"It's you! You secretly colluded with Illusion Ash!"

"Bullshit!" The Lord of Primal Desolation pulverized one of his attackers into a bloody pulp with a single punch. He cursed back, "What benefit do I get from working with Illusion Ash? If you die, how am I supposed to fight him alone?"

The Lord of Dawn froze, quickly sobering up from his panic. Indeed, it was impossible for Yuanhuang to cooperate with Illusion Ash. The other party clearly understood that when the lips are destroyed, the teeth are cold. So where exactly had things gone wrong!?

A moment later, all the subordinates brought by the two leaders were dead. Scattered across the ground were several corpses, either impaled by vines or crushed to death by sheer force.

The two Saint Lords panted heavily. Neither relaxed their vigilance; instead, they surveyed their surroundings with increasingly grim expressions.

"What do we do now? Illusion Ash must be hiding nearby!" the Lord of Primal Desolation ground out through clenched teeth.

The Lord of Dawn knit his brows, a trace of imperceptible panic mixed into his expression. "What the hell is going on? When did these men come into contact with Illusion Ash? Could they have been under his control for a long time? No... impossible. All my trusted men undergo regular mental examinations. They must have been compromised recently.

"And it's not just my men; Yuanhuang's people were compromised as well. The only chance he would have had to control all these people at once was during this very operation.

"Because this operation was the only time all these people gathered together in one place!"

"Could it be... Illusion Ash is hiding among these men?!" Startled, the Lord of Primal Desolation hastily scanned the corpses littering the ground, terrified that one of them might suddenly stand up.

The Lord of Dawn's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "I am absolutely certain that these men are all dead. Illusion Ash is not among them. If he were, you and I would have been killed during that sneak attack.

"Damn it! Where is Illusion Ash? Everyone who knew about this operation participated, and they're all dead... wait, dead?!"

The Lord of Dawn's eyes widened uncontrollably. He violently whipped his head around, staring in horror at the Flesh Lotus Pedestal suspended in midair nearby.

By now, the Flesh Lotus Pedestal's rampage had been suppressed; it hovered completely closed.

"No! There's one more person who isn't dead!!"

The Lord of Primal Desolation followed his gaze, his expression changing drastically. "You mean... Zhou Qiong is..."

Suddenly, a soft chuckle echoed from within the Flesh Lotus Pedestal.

"Did you only realize it just now? I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that."

The next moment, a crystalline blue light flared upon the Flesh Lotus Pedestal. A figure dressed in a black tailcoat and wearing a Silver-White Mask slowly stepped out from within.

Polished black leather shoes lightly touched the ground as the figure stood with natural elegance, his tall, straight posture entering the two leaders' line of sight.

Under their horrified gazes, Su Mu raised his white-gloved right hand, placing it lightly over his chest in an elegant, gentlemanly bow. "The Head of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride... greets the two Saint Lords."

After his bow, he gently beckoned toward the Flesh Lotus Pedestal. As if drawn by an invisible gravitational pull, the pedestal instantly flew into his body and vanished without a trace.

"Many thanks to the Lord of Dawn for helping me suppress this Divine Corpse," Su Mu said with a smile, offering his gratitude.

"You!" The Lord of Dawn was enraged, yet he didn't dare attack right away.

"Illusion Ash! Don't think this Saint Lord won't recognize you just because you're wearing a mask! What exactly are you trying to do?!" Terrifying white steam billowed from the Lord of Primal Desolation, his expression twisted in savage fury.

Amidst the raging gusts of white steam, the tails of Su Mu's coat fluttered wildly. Smiling faintly, he pressed a white-gloved hand against his top hat to keep it from blowing away. As he tipped the brim down, a shadow flowed over his Silver-White Mask like water, casting an eerie gloom over its exaggerated, grinning mouth.

Behind the mask and the shadows, a pair of crystalline blue eyes radiated a profound, chilling light, reflecting the slightly panicked figures of the two Saint Lords.

"What am I trying to do? I simply wish to invite the two of you... to die."

Whoosh!

Two terrifying figures wreathed in divine power appeared on Su Mu's left and right.

One brandished eight arms as scorching white steam erupted into the air, while the other summoned ethereal flowers from the void, wrapping himself in magnificent, trailing petals.

The Lord of Dawn and the Lord of Primal Desolation had launched their attacks simultaneously. Not a single word passed between them, yet their coordination was absolutely flawless. This wasn't because of any deep personal bond, but rather the innate synergy of two Saint Lords uniting against a formidable foe.

In a battle between Saint Lords, words were entirely superfluous. They knew "Illusion Ash" wouldn't give them a single moment to breathe. For him to show himself here meant this was a battle to the death.

Therefore... they could only fight!

Faced with a joint assault from two Saint Lords, the figure in the tailcoat remained standing in exactly the same spot, not even shifting his hand from the brim of his hat.